Shōjo Constructed: The Genre Formation of the Meiji-Era Shōjo Shōsetsu = 構成される「少女」∼ 明治期「少女小説」のジャンル形成

Abstract

Abstract:This article focuses on the early stages of "girls' fiction," or shōjo shōsetsu, between 1895 and 1912, the latter years of the Meiji period, paying particular attention to the relationship between magazines and the emergence of shōjo shōsetsu. Through an analysis of early children's magazines, including Boys' World (Shōnen sekai, 1895–1933), Girls' Sphere (Shōjokai, 1902–1912), and Girls' World (Shōjo sekai, 1906–1931), we can see that shōjo shōsetsu was never tied to a single set of clearly defined writing practices. On the contrary, from the Meiji period to the present day, the term has been used to refer to a wide variety of narrative forms. As this article demonstrates, in all of these forms, shōjo shōsetsu has been inextricably linked to the creation and maintenance of girls' gender roles in modern Japan.